Prologue: Wings and Ashes

Jason stood on the second floor balcony of his family's home, looking up into the sky as the sun drifted lower behind the western mountains. The sky slowly transitioned from its glowing yellow-orange to the deeper purple, revealing the brightest of the stars that heralded the coming of the night. As the last rays of sunlight vanished, he headed inside, closing the double glass doors behind him and drawing the thick curtains shut.

He was nervous. Tonight was the full moon, and it was his very first full moon since he'd been bitten by his mother. He rubbed his side at the memory, the bite marks long since faded away.

"There you are," said his mother. Evelyn Frost climbed the stairs with a grace few women could manage. She glided down the hall and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Are you excited?"

Jason cleared his throat, nodding. "More nervous than excited," he said. "I don't know what's going to happen."

Evelyn laughed. "That's part of the fun!" She grabbed his shoulders and held him at arms length. "Dont worry, your father and older brother are going to be there to help keep you from going crazy."

It was Jason's turn to laugh. "That's not what I'm afraid of."

"You're still afraid of becoming a werehawk?" she asked quietly. "Jason, as overjoyed as I would be if you became one, the chances of that happening are almost slim to none. You're going to be a fine werewolf."

Jason nodded again. "You're not mad?"

"That you'd rather take after your father?" she asked in surprise. "Absolutely not! Your father is a great man, which is why I married him. I'd be happy if you grew up to be like him. But… if you do become a hawk, it's not the end of the world. You can still run around with your friends, you'll be able to keep up with them and everything."

"I know that," said Jason. "I just…. the thing I'm afraid of is…" he sighed in frustration. "Nevermind. You're right, I'm worrying too much."

Evelyn smiled. "There you go, I didn't even have to say it this time. Now, let's get you outside. I dont want you to ruin the decor like your brother did."

Jason laughed and headed down the stairs, through the living room and outside. The sky was pitch black now, with a tapestry of stars shining brightly in every direction. Colorado was beautiful in the summertime, and the sky was unpolluted by the big cities. Their property was massive, stretching in all directions from their house. Their nearest neighbor was several miles away, giving them plenty of privacy from ordinary humans.

Off to one side, Jason could see his father. Despite his age, he was still extremely fit. He crouched low to the ground, eyes blazing with a supernatural yellow glow. He was already fully transformed into a werewolf, with ears elongated into points, facial features obscured by a thickening of the brow and nose. Fangs protruded from his mouth, and the usually thinning hair on the top of his head was thick and full, joined by a set of sideburns that added to his animalistic look. Finally, the nails on each hand had shifted into sharp, deadly claws.

Jason couldn't help but feel a little bit unnerved at the sight. Still technically human, seeing a werewolf activated a subconscious fight or flight response, even though he'd lived around them all his life. He was suddenly on the ground rolling around in the grass as a large object knocked him off his feet. He struggled for a moment, finally ending up with his arms pinned to his sides, with his brother crouching over him. Jordan, a full werewolf as well, grinned, growling softly.

"Hurry up and transform already," He said, baring his fangs. "I've been waiting all month to have a fair wrestling match with you."

Jason chuckled, his air restricted by Jordan's knee. "You're not helping to speed up the process any. Get off of me!" He heaved, throwing Jordan off. He paused, momentarily surprised that he'd been able to do that, then looked at Jordan's stunned face. "You jerk." he muttered under his breath as his brother burst into laughter. Jason stood and dusted himself off, shaking his head. Still as a human, even though he'd started showing signs of his new supernatural abilities, there was no way he'd have been able to throw Jordan off unless he'd purposely let him. "I'll get you back for that. Just wait."

Jordan checked his watch. "How much longer? Or do you plan on transforming at the next full moon?" He said impatiently.

Evelyn emerged from the house, placing her hand lightly on Jason's shoulder. "Jason, look. The moon's fully risen."

"Hm?" Jason looked up into the sky. The moon had come up, peeking over the top of their house. It glowed full with an ethereal beauty. He stumbled back a step, as if hit by a physical force, eyes never leaving the moon. His pupils dilated, and the irises, normally a startling green, slowly turned yellow, just like Jordan's and their Dad's; the eyes of a Beta. His breathing sped up and his body began to shake, sweat pouring from his skin. He gasped, gritting his teeth as the pain hit.

"The first transformation always hurts," yelled Jordan. "It only lasts a few minutes!"

Jason barely heard his brother's words, falling forward onto his hands and knees. His ears slowly formed into points, and his jaw jutted forward slightly, canine teeth forming into sharp fangs. His face shifted, becoming more angular, and his skin lost a little of its normal tan. His brow thickened, but his face was smoother, more ethereal, and his claws became slightly longer, and more curved.

Jason convulsed, dropping to the ground, writhing in pain for several minutes as his family watched in concern. Finally, seemingly over, he managed to prop himself up with his arms again, shaking with fatigue. He looked around, breathing hard. Then with a shudder, he grimaced, throwing his head back and letting loose with a deafening, pain-filled roar that echoed in the still night sky. Huge brown hawks wings burst from his back, ripping clean through his shirt before opening to their full span, then retracting to fold neatly behind him. Taken by surprise, his arms nearly buckled under the unexpected weight.

Jordan gasped in surprise, staring at his brother's back in shock. His shock turned into concern as Jason fully collapsed again, just laying there on his stomach. He looked to their mom, worried. "Mom, what's going on? Shouldn't he be going berserk?"

Evelyn shook her head. "We wont have to worry about that tonight. His body just went through a major shock. He's exhausted. In fact, he might not have enough strength to manifest his first song tonight."

Mark Frost prowled in closer, shifting to his human form and climbing to his feet. He looked at Jason with interest. "Is this what it was like for you?" He nudged Jason with his foot, getting no response. "I kind of expected something a little more….aggressive?" he said in a tone of disappointment

"You try growing a pair of wings in sixty seconds or less and see how you're doing afterwards," said Jordan, coming to his brother's defense. "Mom, what did you mean about a song?"

"Hawks awaken their power by singing their first song," said Evelyn. "Whatever his first song is, that indicates his most potent ability. He'll probably be a Finder hawk, like me. That was my first song."

Jordan snorted. "Mom, Jason can't sing, much less carry a tune."

He fell silent as Jason stirred, slowly staggering to his feet. His eyes were opened, but unfocused, as if he were in a trance. Slowly, his wings stretched to their full span and he took a deep breath.

Jason sang. His voice was a clear and resonant tenor, pure and strong as he sang in a language that none of them knew, yet all understood. His voice echoed, though it was soft, and it flowed out across their property like water. Beneath their feet, the grass quivered, growing at an accelerated rate until it stood tall at their knees. Farther away, their orchard of apple trees erupted in new growths of blossoms, with their current crop reaching full maturity and dropping off the trees in minutes.

Evelyn, Mark, and Jordan listened in awe, stunned by the sheer beauty of his voice, even more so than the effects his singing had on their surroundings. Finally, after about five minutes, the song ended, the last echos slowly fading away.

Mark caught Jason as he staggered backwards, unbalanced because of his wings. He blinked rapidly, eyes finally coming back into focus. "Dad? What happened?" He looked around at the sudden growth of everything, then stood on his own, slowly reaching behind him. He frowned as his hands felt his wings. It took him a second, but he managed to move them around to his front, and he stroked them softly, shocked.

"Jason, I-" started Evelyn.

Jason looked at her, eyes blazing yellow. "Dont say it." He wasn't angry, exactly. After experiencing the transformation, something about the whole thing felt inherently 'right'. It was so different from the nervous aversion he'd felt towards the whole thing, that he didn't know what to feel. He saw the piles of apples in the orchard, as well as the new growth. He frowned. "What happened to everything?"

"Han'ei Suru," said Evelyn quietly. "It's your first song, Jason. Your power made the plants that heard your song flourish. It's called the song of nourishment and plenty."

Jason's eyes lost focus for a minute as he took in her words, repeating the song's title several times. "Han'ei Suru...wow."

"You'll be able to sing it whenever you want," said Evelyn. "It should be second nature to you."

Jason nodded. "Yes, I can feel it inside my head…" He gasped as his wings faded away, and the rest of his features reverted fully to human.

"You've exhausted yourself, Jason," said Evelyn. "It'll hit in a minute."

As if summoned by her words, a crippling wave of fatigue washed over him and he collapsed to the ground, deeply unconscious.

"He's waking up!"

"Watch out! Hold him down!"

Jason gritted his teeth and wrenched his eyes open, squinting at the sudden brightness from the overhead hospital lights. He groaned as the room seemed to spin around him, his vision completely fuzzy. He had to fight not to vomit. Several hands were grasping at him and he tried to shake them off. He felt his fist connect solidly with something and heard a surprised gasp of pain in response. The agitated yelling increased, then most of the people backed away.

Jason felt something cold under his skin, slowly seeping in and spreading throughout his body. "Jason, Jason! Calm down!" someone was yelling at him. "You're safe, Jason." Suddenly drained of all energy, he slumped against the bed and went still, breathing hard. Forced to be calm by whatever drug they'd hit him with, he waited until his vision slowly returned, and everything around him snapped back into crisp focus.

He was in a hospital bed surrounded by several nurses and two strong-looking men. his entire body was swathed in bandages, and the skin beneath it all felt like one large, burning scab.

One man ushered the rest of them away. "It's okay, he's fine now." All but one nurse left, and the last one continued her tests undisturbed.

Jason blinked, trying to focus more clearly on the man. "Who are you?" His throat was parched and his voice was weak and raspy. "What happened?"

The man cleared his throat and took a steadying breath. "Jason, my name is Doctor Deaton. I'm a friend of your father's." He looked around uncertainly, as if looking for the right words. "Jason, your home was attacked last night." He leaned in close, dropping his voice to a soft whisper. "A group of hunters bombed your home from the air. Authorities think it was a stray practice run from the nearby air force base, but your mother told me it was the Burgess family that did it. Your father and brother were killed in the initial blast, and your mother died a few hours ago. I'm so sorry."

The breath left Jason in a rush as he heard the news. His eyes wanted to water, but the tears wouldn't, or more likely, couldn't come. He just stared at the ceiling in disbelief.

Deaton cleared his throat. "I found you and your mother in the debris and brought you here as fast as I could."

Jason focused on him again. "You saved me?"

Deaton shook his head. "Your mother saved you. I just got you to the hospital. Anyway, she left you a letter…" He held out an envelope to show him. It was addressed to him in his mother's flowing script, though it wasn't as precise as normal. He also held up a small leather pouch. "And she left you these." he removed a large light brown feather, one of his mother's primary feathers. "I dont need to tell you to keep these safe. They're very, very important."

Jason could only nod, unable to speak in agreement. Finally, after several long, silent minutes, his throat opened enough for him to talk. "Thank you, for everything."

"I tried my best," said Deaton sadly. "I'm sorry it wasn't good enough to save the rest of your family." The doors to the ward opened, revealing two men dressed in neat black suits. Deaton turned back to Jason. "Looks like my time is up. Remember this: You can run away and hide from your past and try to forget that it ever happened, or you can learn from it; make it part of who you are, and become strong enough to keep others from suffering like you have." he said quickly, almost urgently.

Jason gave a weak, brave smile. "Thank you again, doctor." he whispered. "And...Thank you for trying to save my mother." He frowned. "I want to give you three wishes, Doctor Deaton. Anything within my power."

"Jason, I appreciate the thought, but it's not necessary," said Deaton.

"It's necessary for me," said Jason. He held up the letter. "It was my...my mother's tradition. I'm doing this for her."

"I see," said Deaton. "Make sure you make a full recovery, Jason. This is probably the last time I'll see you for a while, but I'll try to stay in touch. Good luck." then he was gone, ushered away by the men in suits.

Jason clutched the letter and the pouch close to him, vaguely paying attention as the two men in suits explained about some government witness protection program they were placing him in until he reached legal adult age. He tuned them out as the world seemed to go fuzzy again, then slowly faded to black as a blaring alarm echoed throughout the building.